I relax back against him, happy. “So what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know . . .” He links his hands together, resting them on my stomach so I’m nestled in his arms.
“I’ve got a couple of ideas.” I grin, turning so I’m facing him. We kiss for a long moment, hidden by the folds of the bright tent awning.
“Mmm,” I say, pulling away. Then I give him an evil grin. “What was that you said about ice cream?”
“Ouch!” He clutches his chest in mock pain. “I’m not even your number-one priority.”
I laugh. “Maybe two, or three — if they have fries!”
They do. They also have veggie burgers, classic slaw, and a dessert table that lasts for days. We pile paper plates high with food and find a spot out by the side of the main stage: a three-foot-high plywood platform where a trio of grizzled men are entertaining the crowd with a banjo and fiddles. It’s not my kind of thing, but there’s something infectious about their energy.
We laze for a while, chatting quietly in the sun, until I see the others making their way through the crowd. I shift away from Reeve, just in time.
“Dude, you’ve got to try the corn dogs!” Ethan collapses heavily right next to us. “Fiona ate, like, six.”
“Did not!” she protests, wrinkling her nose at the ground before carefully taking a seat. Grady just throws himself down without a second thought, his plate overflowing with three different kinds of pie and a mountain of whipped cream.
“You’re really going to eat all of that?” I ask him, trying not to sound flustered. I can feel Reeve’s eyes on me, my cheeks hot with our secret.
“Duh. Hey! Get your own!” He bats away my hand as I try to sneak a slice of cherry.
Reeve gives me a quick smile while the others bicker around us. I grin back, happy.
“We saw Kate,” Grady adds through a mouthful of food. He gives Reeve this wink. “She’s lookin’ goooood.”
My grin falters. Reeve’s face has gone tense. “Who’s Kate?” I ask, trying to sound casual.
“The Ex,” Ethan announces dramatically. “Except, he still worships and adores her.”
“Really?” Forcing a light tone, I pretend to be enthralled by the a capella group onstage, but inside, I’m screaming with questions. What ex? Why haven’t I heard about her?
“Guys —” Reeve’s complaints are quickly drowned out by Ethan.
“I can’t believe you didn’t hear.” He smears mustard from his chin. “It was like, the big town drama. Epic breakup,” he confides before Reeve hurls a can of soda at him. “OUCH! What’s your problem, man?”
“No problem.” Reeve glares at him, and then catches himself. He shrugs. “Just lay off the gossip. It’s ancient history.”
“So I didn’t have to suffer through your moping like, all of last year?” Ethan snorts. “Come on. Anyway, you might have a chance again. I heard she split with that hockey guy.”
I try to ignore the slice of insecurity that runs through me. Of course he’s had girlfriends. I mean, look at him!
“She asked about you.” Ethan slurps at his slushie. “So if you want to go throw balls at some hoops, now would be a good time, that’s all I’m saying.”
“And she’s put on a couple of pounds,” Grady agrees. “In all the right places.” Fiona smacks him. “What? It’s true!”
Thankfully, the subject changes, and soon the guys are arguing over who ate the most chili fries last year. I pick at my plate, my appetite gone, until Ethan suddenly laughs.
“Ha, told you!” He shades his eyes as he looks over at the crowd. Winding their way toward us are two girls: a petite brunette, and a tall blond girl, casual in jeans and a white T-shirt. “Kate.” Ethan grins at me, like this is all a joke. “I said she was asking about Reeve.”
I sit there, awkward, while the girls arrive and greet everyone with enthusiasm.
“Hey, Grady.” The brunette, Clara, flutters her fingers at him. Fiona’s eyes narrow.
“So what’s up?” Kate hooks her thumbs through her belt loops and grins at us. It’s immature, but I hate her immediately. Her long hair is kind of windswept, her freckled face doesn’t have an ounce of makeup, and there’s even a reddish sauce stain on the corner of her shirt, but somehow, she makes me feel like a slob.
“Nothing much.” Reeve shrugs, getting to his feet and gathering up our trash.
“Where have you been hiding?” she asks. “I haven’t seen you all summer.” The question is directed at them all, but she lingers on Reeve for much longer.
He looks awkward. “Around.”
“We were just heading to check out some of the rides.” I leap up, impatient. I get that Reeve and I are a secret, but that doesn’t mean I have to sit around watching the hot girls all throw themselves at him.
“Coming, Ethan?”
“I guess. I —” he yelps as I drag him to his feet. “What’s the rush?”
“Nothing.” I force a grin. “I just want to see everything before it gets too late.”
“Great idea!” Kate exclaims, smiling at Reeve. She even has dimples. Great. “Let’s do it!”
Foiled.
We wander the festival grounds in a group, pausing for Ethan and Grady to hurl balls/rings/blocks at various stands in a show of macho competition, while I keep one eye on Kate’s proximity to Reeve. It’s pretty close. Part of me wants to grab his hand, like I’m marking my territory, the way Jeremiah B. Coombes would suggest in that survival book, but it would just look pathetic and desperate. And freak him out. I try not to sigh.
“So you’re the new girl I keep hearing about.” Kate drags her attention away from him long enough to fall into step beside me. “How have you been finding Stillwater?”
“Good.” I manage to smile back.
“I’m guessing the guys gave you a hard time at first, right?” She gives me a sympathetic grin, tucking hair behind her ear. “They’re a tough crowd.”
“Hey,” Ethan protests. “We were total gentleman.”
“Uh, no!” I smack him lightly. “Remember that whole ‘abandoning me in the woods at night’ thing?”
“They didn’t!” Kate groans, turning. “Guys, that’s just evil.”
“See?” I say pointedly. “And they said I was just overreacting.” I glance over at Reeve, but he’s got his fists jammed in his pockets, looking uncomfortable.
“You nearly cried,” Grady announces.
“You weren’t even there!” I protest.
Kate makes a noise of sympathy and links her arm through mine. “Don’t mind him,” she confides. “He thinks fear is, like, a show of weakness.”
“Wait up.” Ethan slows as we pass the rodeo ring. “I think some guys from school are riding this year.”
They all stop to watch, and I wander closer, glad of the distraction from Kate and Reeve. I’ve never seen one of these up close. To be honest, I’ve never really seen one at all. Earlier, I caught a glimpse of cattle being herded, and a bucking-bronco type event, but right now, a boy is racing his horse around a collection of barrels at breakneck speed. He’s dressed up for the occasion, in fancy cowboy boots and a big black hat, the metal on his horse’s gear gleaming in the sunset light. It’s hectic and fast, and I can’t help holding my breath as they hurtle around the course.
“They’re so cool!” I exclaim to Fiona as the first boy is replaced by another, this time in a bright red shirt and cream cowboy hat.
She looks at me. “I wouldn’t have thought it was your kind of thing. Isn’t it, like, cruelty to animals or something?” Fiona laughs at her own joke as the others move closer.
“What’s up?” Kate beams expectantly. I feel crummy again for wishing she was anywhere but here.
“Jenna’s into environmentalism,” Fiona explains, grinning. “She wants to protect all the innocent creatures and Mother Earth.”
Clara giggles while Kate looks at me again. “Really? That’s cool. Have you been converting these guys, too?”
&n
bsp; “Nah.” Ethan nudges me. “She’s given up on us. We’re recycling lost causes.”
“Never mind.” Kate winks at me. “You can probably go back and plant some trees or something, balance them out.”
I laugh along, but inside, something twists. It’s all still a joke to them. “Well, what can I say?” I answer lightly, as if their teasing means nothing at all. “I know my limits.”
I stay with them, watching the next couple of competitors, until I figure I’ve left it long enough. “I’m just heading to go look . . .” I gesture vaguely in the direction of the food tent and then slip away while they’re all laughing over something together.
Wandering idly through the crowd, I try to ignore the knot behind my rib cage. They still laugh about me as the eco-girl, but it’s strange to realize that I haven’t thought about the Green Teen stuff at all for a while now. It’s not just because I’ve been obsessing over Reeve either: away from all the meetings, and social stuff with Olivia around school, the issues I spent all that time working on have kind of drifted into the background. And being here, away from my usual routines, I haven’t felt the urgency, either — that sense I always had that I should be doing something, a new project or plan to make my own small difference.
I feel a tremor of guilt. I’m not sure how I should feel about the change.
I’m surprised when Fiona finds me a few minutes later, loitering in line for another scoop of consolation ice cream.
“Hey, are you OK?” She cuts in line beside me, shooting a glare at the family behind us when they make a noise of protest.
“Sure.” I shrug. “Want rainbow topping?”
“No, I mean, about all that nature stuff.” She looks down, scuffing the dirt with her chunky black boots. “I, umm, I’m sorry about that.”
I blink.
“I didn’t think,” she continues, “if you’d take offense or anything.” To my amazement, she seems sincere.
“Oh. Well, thanks.” I pause, disconcerted. “Cone?”
“Sure.”
We head back toward the others, in time to see Kate pull Reeve into a car on the Ferris wheel. He spots me, making an awkward shrug as the attendant lowers the safety bar. Kate waves at me, and they swing up into the air. Together.
I turn back to my melting ice cream and console myself with a mouthful of sprinkles. Maybe this secrecy thing isn’t as thrilling and sneaky as I thought.
“Hey, Susie.” I poke my head around the door to her office on Saturday morning. “I’m just heading out for a walk, take some photos.” I brandish my bulging tote bag as evidence.
“OK, sweetie.” Susie’s sitting in a patch of sunlight by the window, rocking back and forth on an old wooden chair. She looks up from the stack of papers in her lap and gives me a warm smile. “Call and check in later.”
“Everything on schedule?” We both turn and look at the day planner pinned to the wall. Next Friday is circled in red, with big stars and arrows scribbled over the page. Opening Day. A week below it, there’s another, smaller mark I avoid staring at: the one that reads Jenna leaves in neat black print.
“I think so!” Susie nods, a now-familiar look of panic lurking in her eyes.
“OK, let me know if you want me to pick anything up.” I realize my slip as soon as I say it, but Susie doesn’t notice. She gives me another absent smile and turns back to work. I take off before anyone can stop me, bounding down the front steps and hurrying down the road until I’m out of sight, behind the curve of trees.
If I really were taking pictures all day in the woods, then I wouldn’t be able to pick anything up in town. But I’m not. As I wait on the grassy verge, Reeve’s truck comes into sight.
“Hop in!” He reaches across to open the passenger side, and I scramble up into the seat. Glancing around, he quickly leans across to kiss me. “Any trouble getting away?”
“Nope.” I fasten my seat belt. “All clear.”
I wait for a moment, half expecting some kind of explanation for the way things ended up at the festival, but he just puts the truck back in gear and drives away. I want to ask about Kate, but I don’t want to seem like it bothers me. After all, if we’re keeping things casual, things like exes shouldn’t matter.
I look around for the first time. “Someone’s been busy,” I tease, noting the clean interior and smudge-free windows. Instead of the usual piles of equipment and snack wrappers, I can actually see the upholstery, and outside, the paintwork is gleaming.
“Not me.” He laughs. “My sisters were being total pains yesterday, so I gave them some chores.”
“Nice!” I pretend to hit him. “Your sibling karma must be ruined.”
“Uh, yeah.” Reeve gives me a grin. “Kind of late for that now.”
We cut around Main Street via a series of densely wooded back roads, heading out of town on a dirt track I’ve never seen. “OK.” Reeve exaggerates looking around at the empty intersection. “Evasive maneuvers complete. We are a go!” I laugh, settling back in my seat as we turn onto the highway and pick up speed. Soon, we’re flying out of Stillwater, warm air rushing past us, and a rock song playing loud from the old, duct-taped stereo.
I prop my bare feet up on the hot dashboard and relax, one arm slung out the open window. I can see that my legs show all the evidence of my summer adventures: the scrape on my knee from painting the back porch, that bruise on my shin from tumbling off the dirt bike. I wonder how long they’ll take to fade when I’m back home.
“So where are you taking me?” I quickly turn to Reeve. He’s wearing Ray-Ban–style shades, looking too cool with one hand lazily on the steering wheel. He glances over at me and grins.
“It’s a surprise.”
“What kind of surprise?”
“The surprising kind!” He laughs, reaching over and taking my hand. Slipping his fingers through mine, they rest together on the seat beside him. I grin and turn back to watch the green valley speed by outside my window.
After driving for about thirty minutes, Reeve turns off the highway onto a small dirt road. We move slowly under looming trees, the track covered in pine needles and leaves. I love the forest here now — at least in daytime. The canopy above us seems to block out the world, sunlight filtering through and making everything around look extra still and peaceful. At last, Reeve pulls off the track and parks. I glance around, seeing nothing but forest.
“Where now?”
“You’ll see.” Slamming his door, Reeve grins at me, teasing. He pulls a cooler from the back of the truck and waits for me to gather my things. Then, taking my free hand, he leads me deeper into the trees. I walk happily beside him, loving how we don’t have to stay alert for Grady to come crashing through the trees at any moment. Out here, we’re completely private.
“How do you know about these places?” I look up, at the pine trees and foliage all around. “I mean, you could live your whole life in the area and not know these spots.”
“I guess that’s the way we like it.” He climbs over a fallen log and waits to guide me over it. “It’s all word-of-mouth. Someone finds a cool place, tells someone else . . . or they don’t. I bet there are places all over the province that only a few people have ever been.”
I remember the view from the mountain, the miles of forest and lakes stretching out below us.
“Anyway, we’re here. . . .” I could swear Reeve looks kind of nervous as he leads me out of the trees, to a clearing by a lake. Only this one is nothing like back in Stillwater.
“Oh, wow,” I breathe, gazing around. The water is deep and blue, fringed with thick forest, but that’s not all: hundreds of flowers line the lake, their flat leaves resting on the water itself and spreading out into the middle of the pool. I drop my bag and walk all the way to the shore. “Are they water lilies?” I peer at the tiny white buds and dark green leaves, just like in that Monet exhibit my mom dragged me to see in New York one time.
Reeve nods. He’s standing by our pile of stuff, his hands bunched in h
is front pockets, almost as if he’s waiting for my reaction. I practically skip back to him.
“This is amazing!” I tell him. Throwing my arms around his neck, I kiss him in glee. “I can’t believe it, it’s so beautiful!”
“Cool.” Reeve’s face spreads into a smile. “I figured you’d like it here. You brought your camera, right? So, you can take all kinds of photos if you want.”
“I will!” I turn back, amazed at the view. “Is the water OK to swim in?” I start to kick off my sneakers even before he nods.
Stripping down to my bikini, I slowly wade out into the lake. The water is freezing, of course, but I edge out farther, the mud squelching between my toes. I don’t care. All around me, the water lilies float gently on the surface of the water, bobbing as my movement sends hundreds of ripples out across the lake. It’s incredible, but standing in the middle of it all, I’m overcome with a strange sadness, as if I know this is a moment I’ll never get back.
I look around, trying to burn everything into my memory. The hot glare of the sun through the edge of my shade, the gorgeous blanket of flowers lapping gently around me, the way my every step sends clouds of mud billowing in the clear water . . . and Reeve, still watching me from the shore. I exhale a slow, shivering breath.
“Come in!” I yell, forcing aside the sadness, and the thought of that neat print on the calendar back at Susie’s, marking the end to all of this. “The water’s gorgeous!”
We spend hours just lazing by the water that day. Reeve teaches me to skip rocks off the still water, picking out the perfect flat discs and twisting my wrist just right to send them hopping all the way to the middle of the lake. We eat hastily made sandwiches and his mom’s fierce pepper brownies from the cooler, and talk about plans for school and our families until the sun begins to sink lower and the air picks up a low chill.
By the time I make it back to Susie’s (Reeve dropping me off around the bend again to make sure nobody sees), it’s almost six.
“Jenna, have you seen my red — oh, sorry.” Susie walks in without knocking, just as I’m getting changed.
Boys, Bears, and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots Page 17
